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From what I read in the press every day, as well as from private communication, a pretty wide divide seems to appear between what many people think the Syriza government in Athens should do, and what they actually can do at this point in time. It should be useful to clarify what this divide consists of, and how it can be breached, if that is at all possible. In particular, many are of the opinion that Greece cannot escape its

In an article about NATO exercises in Estonia, just 300 yards from the Russian border, Daniel McAdams at the Ron Paul Institute makes a point that I want to use to make a much broader point. Not the provide answers, though, just to provide questions. McAdams quotes the Guardian review of a book by George Sakwa: NATO’s Russia Border Games Russian military plane over international waters 25 miles from the UK coast is “real and present danger” to NATO. Yet…

• The US Recovery Story Is A Fraud: Albert Edwards (CNBC) • The US Is Not As Strong As You Think: Jim O’Neill (CNBC) • Québec Caisse’s Sabia Says Stock Markets Will ‘Run Out of Gas’ (Bloomberg) • Only One-Quarter Of Americans Plan To Retire (MarketWatch) • Americans No Longer Regard China As Top Enemy (CNBC) • Oil Futures Down Sharply On Rising US Inventories (Reuters) • China’s Real Estate Bust Is Worse Than It Seems (Pesek) • Greece Bailout

Oh well, some are more equal than others. One day after Eurogroup head Dijsselbloem says France won’t get any more lenience … France Must Respect EU Budget Rules France must meet EU budget targets or risk damaging the bloc’s entire framework for policing countries’ spending plans, the head of the Eurogroup said on Tuesday. “I don’t think small or larger countries should be treated differently … It is crucial for the credibility of the whole fiscal framework that also France